The slow retreat of massive Ice Age glaciers formed what is today the Gerry E. Studds- Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, a sand and gravel plateau at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay. There, ocean currents sweep water in and out of the bay, with the bank partially blocking the opening and funneling the flow into relatively narrow passageways. Nutrient-rich waters in deeper Stellwagen Basin and the greater Gulf of Maine encounter the bank and rise up over this underwater obstruction, creating complicated upwelling currents that power the food web of the region. With the energy of sunlight, these nutrients, now pulled to the surface, nourish oceanic plant or phytoplankton growth, just as fertilizer does to a lawn. This rich New England vegetable soup feeds blooms of small animals -- the zooplankton -- which in turn support a vast multi-layered food web that culminates with the great whales.

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